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Wildfire Protection

By Chris Reed

An article from the California Chaparral Institute caught my eye the other day. It reads: “The traditional approach to wildfire management has it backwards. It focuses on vegetation control rather than what we actually want to protect—our homes and families.”

Can this be correct? Yes, it can.

Houses burn because they are flammable, and we build them near fire-prone landscapes. Houses ignite during wildfires because flying embers get stuck in a flammable part of the structure and a fire gets started. Think of thousands of lighted matches raining down on your house. Embers can easily travel half a mile ahead of a fire front in a Santa Ana wind. That is why fires jump across freeways and fire breaks. It is why homes are lost even though homeowners have complied with defensible space regulations. “Defensible space” is a bit of a misnomer.

Study the image below:

A satellite image of burned houses in Paradise, California. Note that the surrounding pine trees were not burned. The culprits were flying embers and vulnerable homes igniting each other.

This is the new science of wildfires, as developed by U.S. Forest Service fire scientist Jack Cohen, and noticed by the South Laguna Civic Association (see southlaguna.org/GovNewsomWildfires2019.pdf). Our obsession with vegetation clearance has blinded us to the dangers closer to home. Until we accept this, our efforts will be misdirected. In August 2018, the city received a $4.2 million grant for fire prevention in Laguna Canyon. This will be used for removing dead brush, which will be of some help, but also give a false sense of security. If you think brush clearance in the canyon will protect you from wildfire, think again.  The real problem is in your home.

So what can you do to make your home less vulnerable to fire? Basically, you have to think like a flying ember. Where can you lodge and get a blaze started?

Easy precautions include cleaning leaves out of your gutters and covering all vents with wire mesh. Don’t stack flammables (firewood, etc.) next to your house. Wooden decks and nearby slatted wooden fences are danger spots. Take a good hard look at your roof. Do leaves gather in the creases? Obviously, remove them. But also realize that this is exactly where embers will gather. Roofing material should be non-flammable and without gaps. Gaps between gutters and roofs are suspect. Hardening the target is the name of the game. Stucco, stone and metal are great. Wood and oil-based materials are not. There’s a great business opportunity here for qualified contractors. The fire department could certify them. The Australians go further. They often have sprinklers on the roof, a large water supply (a swimming pool is good) and a pump with its own power source.

When you see smoke coming over the hill, bring in your outdoor furniture cushions, wooden furniture, doormats, brooms—anything that an ember might ignite. Then cross your fingers and head for the beach.

If you don’t want to go to all this trouble, then you’d better get good fire insurance and be prepared to lose your home.

And remember, vegetation was not the problem.

Chris Reed is a retired professor of chemistry with a keen interest in the aesthetics of Laguna Beach. Contact: [email protected].

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